FY 2004

Ocean carbon and climate change: An implementation strategy for U.S. ocean carbon research

Doney, S.C., R. Anderson, J. Bishop, K. Caldeira, C. Carlson, M.-E. Carr, R. Feely, M. Hood, C. Hopkinson, R. Jahnke, D. Karl, J. Kleypas, C. Lee, R. Letelier, C. McClain, C. Sabine, J. Sarmiento, B. Stephens, and R. Weller

In A report of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group, National Science Foundation, 108 pp (2004)

From Summary:

The ocean component of the global carbon cycle is a key component of the climate system, regulating on annual to millennial time-scales the uptake, storage, and release to the atmosphere of carbon dioxide (CO) and other climate relevant chemical species. Currently about 30% of the anthropogenic carbon emitted to the atmosphere by fossil-fuel burning is removed by oceanic uptake, but the future behavior of this important carbon sink is quite uncertain because of potential climate change impacts on ocean circulation, biogeochemical cycling, and ecosystem dynamics. A coordinated observational, experimental and modeling research effort is required to address the scope of these ocean carbon problems and their connections to physical climate and other aspects of the global carbon cycle. We present an integrated, multi-agency implementation strategy for oceanic monitoring and research aimed at determining how much carbon dioxide is being taken up by the ocean at the present time and how climate change will affect the future behavior of the carbon sink. This strategy for an Ocean Carbon and Climate Change (OCCC) Program is designed as an ocean component of the U.S. Global Change Research Program Carbon Cycle Science Program and the U.S. Climate Change Science Program. It builds on the extensive set of U.S. and international community planning workshops and reports completed over the last several years.